The Mad Spearman of the Northern Front - Chapter 66

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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The Mad Spearman of the Northern Front (66)

 

Rustle.

 

The forest shrouded in darkness trembled quietly.

 

The humid smell of earth and crushed grass blades.

 

The faint lingering scent of blood.

 

Moldur knelt down and touched the ground.

 

Behind him, over fifty elite Kar Tribe Warriors stood in formation.

 

“….”

 

Several small branches lay broken on the ground, and beside them, deep imprints of Empire soldiers’ military boots were pressed into the earth.

 

‘Not far.’

 

Judging by how dry the broken branches were, it hadn’t been too long since they passed through this place.

 

Along with that, Moldur recalled the corpses of warriors he had seen on the way here.

 

‘Over a hundred.’

 

He muttered inwardly like a short sigh.

 

In just two days, that was the number of their warriors those bastards had killed.

 

Most of the deaths were from attacks close to single strikes.

 

They hadn’t fought head-on, but had hidden their bodies and finished them off with surprise attacks in one blow.

 

That meant.

 

‘They’re extremely skilled at this kind of small-scale fighting.’

 

Moldur exercised caution.

 

If those bastards happened to be lying in ambush to draw them in, it wouldn’t be an ordinary problem.

 

However….

 

Moldur lightly snapped the twig in his hand and rose from his position.

 

‘Judging by the distance they’ve traveled and the traces of battle so far, those bastards must have reached their limit too.’

 

If not, they wouldn’t be human.

 

Even if a battle broke out, the situation would inevitably be advantageous to them.

 

“Listen, warriors.”

 

Moldur slowly straightened his back, turned around, and spoke to the warriors.

 

“From here on, we reduce our speed and move carefully. There’s a high possibility those bastards are nearby.”

 

Dozens of Kar Tribe Warriors’ eyes flashed sharply at Moldur’s words.

 

Seeing their aura as if they were ready to draw their swords and axes at any moment, Moldur continued.

 

“If those Empire bastards are lying in ambush here waiting for us, we’ll cut off their heads to honor the souls of our fallen warriors.”

 

Those bastards were already exhausted, and even if they had rested, they couldn’t have fully recovered from all the accumulated damage.

 

At Moldur’s words, the warriors burned with fighting spirit.

 

They intended to thoroughly repay the revenge for their dead comrades.

 

“Let’s go.”

 

With Moldur’s words, the Kar Tribe Warriors moved along the trail while staying alert to their surroundings.

 

And Arteon, who was watching them from a distance.

 

“….”

 

He silently observed their movement route.

 

As Arteon’s gaze followed them, his brow furrowed.

 

‘…They’re coming in exactly the right direction.’

 

It was a mistake not to completely erase their traces while hurrying to move.

 

No, if they had focused on erasing traces, they might have been caught up even sooner.

 

Clench.

 

Arteon bit his lip.

 

But soon he quietly turned around and moved to where the platoon members were resting.

 

“Where have you been?”

 

Upon arrival, Grain was the first to greet Arteon.

 

But seeing his hardened expression, he asked cautiously.

 

“…Is something wrong?”

 

“The enemy.”

 

“…!”

 

At those brief words, Grain’s eyes widened.

 

As he tried to jump up in surprise, Arteon raised his hand to stop him.

 

“Calm down.”

 

“If those bastards are right behind us, shouldn’t we prepare for battle here?”

 

The fortunate thing was that the enemy hadn’t discovered them yet.

 

He thought that if they hid and launched a surprise attack, they might be able to take down those bastards like they had so far.

 

But Arteon spoke with resolute eyes.

 

“If we fight, we’ll all die.”

 

There wasn’t a hint of hesitation in his voice.

 

Was it because of that?

 

A moment of silence fell.

 

Not just Grain, but all the platoon members around were left speechless.

 

This was the first time they had seen Arteon like this.

 

“Then… what should we do?”

 

Grain asked Arteon as if representing everyone.

 

To that, Arteon looked at the platoon members and said.

 

“Even if we fought in normal condition, I couldn’t guarantee victory. But right now, you’re all exhausted.”

 

“We’re fine now.”

 

“We can fight, Platoon Leader.”

 

Arteon knew better than anyone that a brief rest couldn’t fully recover from fatigue.

 

To that, Arteon immediately shook his head.

 

“No, they’re on a different level from the ones we’ve fought so far. If we fight, it’ll be a dog’s death.”

 

That bastard who was at the front of the Kar Tribe group.

 

Recalling that bastard’s face, Arteon unconsciously gripped his spear handle tightly.

 

But at Arteon’s words, Grain’s eyes widened.

 

“Still… we’re prepared. We can’t turn our backs on those bastards.”

 

“That’s right. We’ve killed dozens of those Kar Tribe bastards so far. Running away like this won’t be forgiven by our pride.”

 

“We’re ready to sacrifice our lives at any time, Platoon Leader.”

 

At the words of Grain and the squad leaders, the other platoon members also nodded in agreement.

 

Hadn’t they all survived together through this hellish battlefield?

 

With their comrades, even death wasn’t frightening.

 

But at those words, Arteon’s eyes grew coldly calm.

 

A strange look, as if he was angry, or perhaps not.

 

“Listen carefully.”

 

Arteon looked at each of the platoon members in front of him in turn.

 

And tracing through the memories he had experienced so far, he spoke out his firmly established conviction as if spitting it out.

 

“If you want to win in war, you’d better abandon that kind of superficial resolve right now.”

 

Everyone’s eyes widened.

 

It was different from what they expected.

 

They thought Arteon would understand their determination.

 

But Arteon continued speaking as if such reactions didn’t matter.

 

“Don’t bet your lives on this kind of low-probability fight. Your lives aren’t cheap enough to be thrown away in just this kind of battle.”

 

At those words, the atmosphere became solemn for a moment.

 

“If you really want to win, survive. Living and cutting those bastards’ throats in the next fight is real revenge and victory.”

 

With those words, Arteon slowly rose from his position.

 

“Grain, lead the platoon from here.”

 

“…What about you, Platoon Leader?”

 

“I’ll lure them away.”

 

“…!”

 

Grain’s eyes widened.

 

Soon he jumped up from his position and said.

 

“You can’t do that!”

 

“If we move together, it’ll only get in the way. Right now, splitting up is the only way for everyone to survive.”

 

Arteon lightly patted Grain’s shoulder.

 

His eyes had become gentle, unlike his anger from moments before.

 

“Trust me. I’ll definitely come back.”

 

“…But.”

 

“We don’t have time to delay like this. Unless you plan to get all the platoon members killed, hurry up and prepare.”

 

Arteon looked toward the direction where the Kar Tribe group was approaching.

 

Then he looked at the platoon members again and said.

 

“Everyone, return to the Military Base without a single death. When you get back, training will start again, so you’d better steel yourselves.”

 

The same voice and tone as always.

 

At those words, the platoon members could only clench their fists silently.

 

Arteon said.

 

“When they start chasing me, move in the opposite direction.”

 

“…Understood.”

 

After hearing Grain’s response, Arteon launched his body without hesitation.

 

Swoosh!

 

The 3rd Platoon members watched as Arteon’s figure disappeared into the Darkness in an instant.

 

Then Grain quietly bit his lips and muttered.

 

“…Please come back safely.”

 

And….

 

Swish!

 

Arteon, who had been hiding using the fog-filled Bushes as cover, gripped one of the Throwing Spears he had brought.

 

The way to completely draw those guys’ attention right now was….

 

“Hup…!”

 

Arteon drew up his Mana and channeled it into the Spear Shaft.

 

Since his Mana Cultivation Method wasn’t at a high level yet, he couldn’t fully imbue it with Mana.

 

‘But even this… should be enough to draw their attention.’

 

Arteon’s eyes flashed.

 

At the same time, he hurled the Spear he was holding powerfully toward where the Kar Tribe Warriors were.

 

Whoooooooosh!

 

The Spear shot forward with a tremendous Air-Rending Sound.

 

“…!”

 

“At, attack…!”

 

Thud!

 

It pierced through the bodies of three Kar Tribe Warriors and embedded in a tree.

 

Moldur, who was at the front, snapped his head up.

 

“It’s an attack! Everyone take cover!”

 

A roar that seemed to shake the Forest.

 

But no follow-up attack came.

 

Arteon, who had thrown the Spear from quite a distance, turned his body and disappeared into the Darkness.

 

Moldur’s eyes wavered at the sight.

 

‘From that distance to here…?’

 

Unbelievable destructive power.

 

But looking around, there seemed to be no Ambush Positioning from others.

 

An action whose intention was obvious at a glance.

 

‘Does he mean to lure us?’

 

By making himself bait?

 

It was absurd, but it didn’t matter anyway.

 

If he could just kill that guy, a few other worthless soldiers didn’t matter.

 

“Chase him! Hurry!”

 

As Moldur shouted loudly and kicked off the Ground, the Kar Tribe Warriors followed behind him.

 

Their speed climbing up the Hill in an instant was that of wild beasts.

 

And at the same time.

 

“…3rd Platoon, everyone move in the opposite direction.”

 

Grain quietly gave the order and moved quickly with the 3rd Platoon members.

 

Though he thought of it as strategic retreat rather than escape, Grain’s fingertips were trembling.

 

The footsteps moving away from Arteon felt unbearably heavy, and his tightly bitten lips turned red enough to draw blood.

 

‘Please return soon, Platoon Leader.’

 

Please hold out until then.

 

Anger surged at his own weakness, but still, he had to retreat now.

 

And in that fog-covered Battlefield.

 

Swoosh!

 

Arteon was luring dozens of Kar Tribe Warriors following him somewhere.

 

* * *

 

Swoosh!

 

At some point, hiding while moving had become a meaningless action.

 

Dozens of Kar Tribe Warriors followed behind Arteon as he raced quickly through the Bushes.

 

“Huff! Huff! Huff!”

 

Though he was controlling his breathing, running away any further seemed meaningless.

 

When Arteon glanced back.

 

About half of the personnel he had initially identified were nowhere to be seen.

 

As expected, they were probably already moving through different routes to surround him.

 

In that case….

 

‘Here… I’ll settle this.’

 

Before their forces combined into one, he had to reduce their numbers even a little.

 

Swoosh!

 

Having made his decision, Arteon turned at a right angle and leaped into the depths of the Bushes.

 

Thick branches scratched his body like Blades, but Arteon didn’t care and raced quickly.

 

“What?!”

 

“Chase him!”

 

Seeing Arteon suddenly change direction and leap into a pathless area, Moldur’s eyes widened.

 

Had he noticed that they were dividing their forces to drive him?

 

‘But….’

 

Even so, nothing would change.

 

Tweet!

 

He put two fingers to his mouth and blew like a Whistle to send a signal.

 

With this, the Warriors scattered to both sides would close the encirclement on their own.

 

“We’ll chase after him.”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Understood.”

 

Following Moldur’s command, the Kar Tribe Warriors launched their bodies toward the Bushes where Arteon had entered.

 

But at that moment.

 

Swoooooosh!

 

“…!”

 

Moldur recoiled in shock and twisted his body to avoid the throwing spear flying toward him from the front.

 

Though Moldur barely managed to dodge the spear.

 

Thunk!

 

He turned his head at the dull sound coming from behind.

 

Thud.

 

Two warriors had lost their lives without even being able to resist.

 

And the moment Moldur looked forward again.

 

“You bastard…!”

 

The monster-like Red-haired Comrade with a youthful face stood there with fierce eyes.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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